Sophomore Eric Pfisterer pitched his first career complete game, but it wasn’t enough as the Blue Devils (19-14) lost to the Wildcats, 4-2, at USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary Tuesday. Pfisterer surrendered one run over his final seven innings, but the damage done early proved to be all the offense Davidson would need.
The Wildcats (14-19) scored three runs in the pivotal second inning. Pfisterer walked Will General with one out, then gave up consecutive singles to Tommy Piacenza and Seth Freeman before shortstop Michael Zeblo slammed a double to bring home two more runs.
Wildcat starter Brian Russell held Duke to one run on four hits in six innings of action, and Davidson relievers Andy Bass and Mike Frongello limited the Blue Devils to one more run over the final three innings.
Leadoff hitter Ryan McCurdy got on base three times, and shortstop Jake Lemmerman had two RBI, but the rest of Duke’s bats went cold in the team’s first nonconference loss in 14 games. The Blue Devils didn’t strike out once against the Wildcats, but grounded into four double plays to quash potential rallies.
Duke had a chance to cut into the lead in the eighth inning after Lemmerman brought home freshman Marcus Stroman on a sacrifice fly. The Blue Devils then had runners on the corners with two out, but Frongello escaped the jam to preserve a 3-2 lead.
The Wildcats tacked on an insurance run in the ninth inning and Duke wasted another opportunity with two baserunners to end the game.
The Blue Devils continue their homestand today in Cary against UNC Greensboro (14-18) at 6 p.m. Duke is 5-2 against the Spartans all time, and 4-2 under head coach Sean McNally. The teams have split the last four contests, all high-scoring routs in which one team topped the 10-run mark.
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